Dennis Robertson (politician)


Dennis Robertson is a Scottish politician, and formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeenshire West constituency 2011–2016. He is a member of the Scottish National Party. He is the first blind MSP to be elected to the Scottish Parliament.

Career

After an education at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, and studying social work at Langside College, Robertson worked as a social worker in Greenock from 1979. In 1989 he joined the Guide Dogs for the Blind association based in Forfar, before joining North East Sensory Services in 2005.
He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, after defeating the Liberal Democrat incumbent, Mike Rumbles, by a majority of 4,112 votes.
He stood again in 2016 but was unseated by Alexander Burnett.

Personal life

Robertson has been registered as blind since he was 11. Married to Anne, the couple had two daughters. Their daughter Caroline died in February 2011, from complications arising from anorexia, after Robertson had started election campaigning.